CHAD: Malnutrition outstrips response

"In parts of Chad acute malnutrition levels far exceed the international emergency threshold, according to a new study – fallout, partly, from crop failure hitting already fragile communities where access to basic health services is low and aid agencies are scarce.

The study, by Action Contre la Faim (ACF) along with the government, donors and UN agencies, showed that in Nokou and Mao in the western Kanem region, acute malnutrition strikes 27.2 percent and 21 percent of under-five children, respectively. The figures for severe acute malnutrition – which commonly results in death if untreated – are 6.4 and 4.7 percent."